The following morning, as Chen Chu walked into the school, he hadn't gone far when he ran into someone he knew.
By the roadside stood Li Meng, whom Chen Chu had defeated in the ranking competition. Spotting Chen Chu, Li Meng's face lit up with excitement, and he exclaimed, "Chen Chu, you've finally arrived!"
"Is there something you need?" Chen Chu looked at him puzzled.
Li Meng grinned with pride and said, "I've been waiting here today to tell you that I've already broken through to the Second Heavenly Realm."
Li Meng stumbled in his words, "Uh... don’t you feel pressured?"
Chen Chu looked at him strangely. "Why would I feel any pressure? Are you planning to challenge me to take revenge for the competition?"
"Of course not. I, Li Meng, am not the kind of person who takes advantage of others' vulnerabilities," he proudly stated. "Even though I was careless that day, I admit my defeat wholeheartedly.
"I came here today to tell you that I've issued a challenge on the official website. If anyone wants to challenge you after you break through to the Second Heavenly Realm, they'll have to defeat me first."
"...What's all this about?" Chen Chu was a bit puzzled.
Li Meng snorted. "Since it was you who defeated me in the First Heavenly Realm, people trying to elevate themselves by challenging you would essentially be the same as them challenging me. I can't let them have their way. Besides, we've become acquainted through our previous encounter. We're friends, and there's no need for you to thank me for such a trivial matter."
No, when did I say I wanted to thank you? And when did we become friends?
Chen Chu was momentarily bewildered.
"Wait a minute, why are you assuming that I'll be weaker than you guys after breaking through to the Second Heavenly Realm?" Chen Chu's expression turned peculiar as he spoke.
As the armored beast grew, all of his attributes also improved. His Physique alone had reached 115 points, and his Strength attribute was at 120. Under the enhancement of the Dragon Elephant Art, his fist strength had already exceeded four thousand kilograms.
Even if geniuses like Li Meng had stronger true power after their breakthroughs, Chen Chu was confident that he could overpower them with his enhanced abilities. There was no way around it. His basic attributes had surpassed theirs by too much.
With full confidence, Li Meng said, "Of course, as a genius practicing high-level arts, my strength has undergone a tremendous change after breaking through to the Second Heavenly Realm.
"But don't be discouraged. Once we reach the second year of high school, we can participate in trial missions and have plenty of opportunities to earn contribution points. By then, you can exchange them for high-level arts and cultivation resources. Who knows, you might even catch up to me one day.
"Good luck, Chen Chu. I'll be waiting for you ahead!" Li Meng then turned around and left without giving Chen Chu a chance to respond.
Chen Chu took a deep breath.
Forget it, no need to lower myself to his level.
Chen Chu consoled himself and slowly suppressed the thought of beating up the guy.
"Have you heard? Half of Kyrola has fallen."
"Yeah, I heard a lot of people died. Those cultivators even set up some kind of Earth God Cult and were preaching about the imminent judgment day. They claim that only believers can attain eternal life."
"Do you guys think there really is a god in this world?"
"What is a god anyway? Just an individual who surpasses the social collective in strength. We cultivators become gods through our practice."
As Chen Chu entered the cultivation room, he heard many people discussing the situation in Kyrola. It had been over a month since the turmoil had started, but the situation not only hadn’t stabilized, but also seemed to be escalating.
The Federation was debating whether to intervene or not. Under the unified regulations, each allied country still had autonomy. Only in the case of significant events that affected the Federation as a whole did the three major nations have sufficient reason to intervene.
"I hope it won't affect us here." Chen Chu had become accustomed to the current days and didn't want them to be disrupted.
"Chen Chu, you're here," a male classmate greeted Chen Chu.
Chen Chu smiled and nodded at them. "Yeah, you guys are always here so early every day."
The student with some freckles on his face shrugged. "No choice. We’re a bit weaker than others, so we have to rely on hard work instead of talent."
In recent times, Chen Chu had gained quite a bit of popularity by breaking into the top fifty rankings as an average student. As a result, his classmates had taken the initiative to become more acquainted with him, thanks to the pride he gave them and other average students.
The group chatted for a while and then began the day's cultivation.
Chen Chu, as usual, began practicing his saber arts.
As the others started their cultivation, Chen Chu stood in the middle of the crowd with his blade, closed his eyes, and expanded his senses. In an instant, he entered a clear-headed and calm state of mind.
In the ethereal realm of his consciousness, three faint outlines of human bodies appeared, emitting ripples as they cultivated.
Compared to the Dragon Elephant Art, where steady improvement came with regular cultivation, progress in the cultivation of the Insightful Eye seemed slow, due to it relying on comprehension.
After a month of cultivation, Chen Chu could still only sense the movement of transcendent energy within a range of about ten meters.
With his current progress, he wondered how much time it would take to reach the state described in the saber art manual. This state would allow him to perceive malicious intent within a specific range with a simple thought.
Engrossed in his cultivation, time flew by and several days passed.
It was October 17. More than half a month had passed, and thanks to the motivation ignited by the ranked competition, many freshmen had built their foundation during this period. Currently, there were nearly nine hundred freshmen practicing cultivation, accounting for half of the year.
This ratio surpassed the figures from previous years by a significant margin. In the preceding years, only one-third of freshmen had managed to build their foundation. During the second and third years of high school, about half of these groups would then choose to give up due to slow progress. Graduating with a breakthrough to the Third Heavenly Realm was a feat achieved by almost only one in ten.
And this was just in recent years. Ten years ago, when the foundational arts weren’t widely known, only a few in a hundred students could successfully cultivate each year.
Those who could were considered geniuses. Anyone who could persist in cultivation from then until now, such as the current arts teachers, was undoubtedly formidable.
When lunchtime rolled around, Chen Chu observed the now much busier cafeteria and opted for a less crowded queue. Just as he joined the line, however, Xia Youhui approached from behind, giving him an excited pat on the shoulder. "Ah Chu, have you missed me these past few days?"
Chen Chu turned to look at him and casually remarked, "Miss you for what? Do you want to set me up with a girlfriend?"
"Are you sure you want me to set you up with a girlfriend? Didn't you say women would only hinder your attack speed?" Xia Youhui's eyes gleamed. He knew many beautiful girls, and one of them had been inquiring about Chen Chu every day. If Chen Chu was interested, Xia Youhui wouldn't mind helping with the introduction.
"You actually think I’m serious." Chen Chu was baffled, and he changed the subject. "But if you hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have noticed that I hadn’t seen you these few days."
"....We’re brothers, good brothers. You make me so sad." Xia Youhui wore an expression of resentment, sending chills down Chen Chu’s spine.
"Don’t look at me that way, or else I might punch you," he said as he took a step back.
"Okay, I’ll stop joking. Ah Chu, I finally broke through to the Second Heavenly Realm."
"Really? Congratulations! So impressive!" Chen Chu praised with a sincere tone.
However, Xia Youhui felt a little suspicious. He couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.